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plank benders

what type of glue stick glue, it it intended to be immersed in water as a radio control sail at 1/32 scale

am still recovering from Myasthenia gravis, so progress is extremely slow, and since i am on benefits everything is cheap, plank thickness being the greatest problem, i only have a large one not a miniature one, if anyone knows of any adaptations that can be made would be grateful for suggestions

did think of hair straighteners as plank benders (desperately poor at moment lol)
 
Actually I was thinking of hair curlers when gave you a reply above. I did not use a hair STRAIGHTENERS for the purpose but I think they also can be used with even better success. I believe they can produce any curvatures on wood planks. I would imagine the technique would be moving the tool while clipping the wooden plank under some angle to the plank's plane.
 
great minds think alike, this is my first build and is scratch built, it is based on the cruiser class of 1779, at 1/32 scale, i say loosely as some proportions are a little stretched, have made the keel and bulkheads, just got to join the two, so a long way to go

still have to convert a wood lathe into a centre lathe, learn resin casting, obtain a cheap 3D printer etc

am an engineering lecturer by trade and have been off sick for about a year, still employed but no income, thank god for the NHS, everything paid for, only when you are severely ill that you appreciate the society you live in
 
Sorry for the many replies, am housebound so dont get to chat to anyone for days on end
 
only a small one for electronic or electrical soldering

will look up on ebay and see if they have a cheap larger version
 
You might find a small travel iron could work - eBay has several around the £8 mark including some steam ones. Hope this helps.
 
If they are still available, ebay possibly, a pair of hair curling tongs would be useful for small radii bends.
 
Again I refer you to the Model Shipways( Model Expo) plank bender. A soldering iron with an aluminum (aluminium for you U.K. dwellers) drum adapter. You get all the heat you need. Just wet the plank. ( No need to to steam it or soak it in hot water) just wet it and bend away. for those of you with the right metal turning equipment You can make a "Kammelander" bender head with several diameters turned on one head of varying diameters. Mr. Kammerlander (there are plans or a book out there somewhere on the Kammerlander method) developed a whole process for making plank on frame boats over a solid reusable mold. We have one at the U.S. Naval Academy workshop, along with the soldering iron with the "kammerlander" style tip. The Model Shipways version comes with a French curve shaped wood mold to shape your planks against, although I have found it to be unnecessary and prefer bending against a hard, heat resistant, surface. Again you can virtually sculpt the plank to shape with this tool and can re-wet and re-bend your piece almost indefinitely as long as you keep it wet with each pass being careful not to burn it. You can even twist the plank in the bending process as you move the tip over it, if a twist is required in the curve, as is sometimes the case. With a little practice (as always) it becomes an elegantly simple solution to the problem.

To Andy60, I am sincerely sorry to hear of your current medical dilemma and isolation. It sounds perfectly dreadful and I wish you a speedy and full recovery as soon as possible! I hope this forum provides you with at least some solace and relief from your lonely isolation.

P.G.
 
For bluff bows I use an empty small baked beans tin, a bulldog clip and a saucepan of boiling water. Five to ten minutes is enough to bend a piece of wood 2mm thick through 90 degrees. Clip the end of the wood strip to the beans can and gently push it down under the water. Zero cost apart from heatng the water and the gas for the cooker.

Hope this helps
 
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